Sleet, freezing rain expected to slow commute Tuesday

By Ian Benjamin

Monday, January 28, 2013

TROY -- Trees were covered in a light coat of snow in downtown by midday Monday with more snow, sleet and freezing rain expected by this morning.

The precipitation is a result of a surge of warm air coming from the Ohio Valley and slowly tracking to the northeast, which will take several days to pass through the region, said meteorologist Kevin Lipton with the National Weather Service.

The main surge of precipitation will come through today into this evening, expected to mix with sleet and freezing rain later this afternoon into this evening. The precipitation is not expected to taper off until late in the evening.

"Be prepared and allow extra time for the evening commute," Lipton said.

The sleet and freezing rain are expected to coat the snow in a "light glaze" of ice, Lipton said. Overall, the system is expected to drop between one and three inches of snow and sleet.

Not counting the new snowfall, the region is well below the average snowfall, 32 inches, for this time of year. So far, the official measurements at Albany Intl. Airport have shown snowfall of 18 inches -- below normal, but five inches above last year's accumulation by this time.

The warm air brought by the system is expected to result in temperatures in the 40s and 50s on Wednesday, to be accompanied by rain showers and wind gusts.